Bar manager's reply to angry customer goes viral

A woman suffered a heart attack during a New Year’s Eve celebration at a downtown Indianapolis bar, but a customer’s complaint about the response fueled a social media firestorm.

According to a manager at Kilroy’s Downtown Indy, a 70-year-old woman suffered the heart attack while celebrating New Year's Eve with her family. A customer named Holly Jones took to Facebook to complain that the response to the event ruined her holiday celebration. The woman said she believed someone had suffered a drug overdose and was upset the wait staff wasn’t attentive to her and her guests:

“I will never go back to this location for New Year’s Eve!!! After the way we were treated when we spent 700+ and having our meal ruined by watching a dead person being wheeled out from an overdose my night has been ruined!!! Every year we have come to Kilroys to enjoy New Years Eve and tonight we were screamed at and had the manager walk away from use while (we) were trying to figure out our bill being messed up. The manager also told us someone dying was more important then us being there making us feel like our business didn’t matter, but I guess allowing a Junkie in the building to overdose on your property is more important then paying customers who are spending a lot of money!! Our waitress when we were trying to ask about our bill being messed up also said “what do you want me to do (expletive) pay your bill for you?” What a great way to talk to a paying customer! I get that working on New Years Eve (is) stressful but being a complete (expletive) to us all night knowing you get an automatic gratuity is not right!!!”

Kilroy's manager Chris Burton replied to the woman’s post and clarified the woman had not suffered a drug overdose, but had a heart attack.

"First of all, the “overdosing junkie” that you speak of was a 70-year-old woman who had a heart attack. Thankfully she was revived at the hospital and survived. It sounds like you were very concerned about her so I thought you should know. This poor lady, who was celebrating New Year’s Eve with her husband and son, had to be placed on the floor of a completely packed bar and have her shirt removed in front of everyone so the paramedics could work on her.

But I completely understand why you think being intoxicated (expletive) that didn’t understand your bill should take priority over a human life. I especially appreciate you making your server (who doesn’t curse) cry as well. I’m sure she really enjoyed working on New Year’s Eve just to deal with people such as yourself. I personally had to leave a show to take a phone call from an emotional manager telling me someone died at Kilroy’s and that other employees were not doing so well dealing with this. (At the time they didn’t know that she was going to make it.) So I understand how inconvenient this was for your night.

But honestly, I’m glad to hear you won’t be coming back to Kilroy’s because we wouldn’t want anyone as cold hearted and nasty as you returning. I appreciate anyone who chooses to spend their money at Kilroy’s until they act like you. You can take your money anywhere else after that, and I won’t lose a second of sleep over it. Happy New Year!"

In a follow up post, Kilroy’s said the woman survived, but still has a long way to go. The bar encouraged customers to support her recovery. Her family has created a GoFundMe page to help pay for her medical expenses.

The bar also told people that there were several people named “Holly Jones” on Facebook and urged people not to send hateful messages to them. It added the woman who made the original post has since taken down her Facebook profile.

People from around the globe have been posting to Kilroy's Facebook page praising Burton for his reply.

UPDATE: Since posting the story at 10:30 A.M., donations to the family's GoFundMe page have more than doubled and surpassed the $5,000 they were asking for.